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New U-Pb, Re-Os, and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates are presented for magmatic and hydrothermal mineral phases in skarn-and porphyry-related ores from the Nambija and Pangui districts of the Subandean zone, southeastern Ecuador. Nambija has been one of the main gold-producing centers of Ecuador since the 1980s due to exceptionally high-grade ores (average 15 g/t, but frequently up to 300 g/t Au). Pangui is a recently discovered porphyry Cu-Mo district. The geology of the Subandean zone in southeastern Ecuador is dominated by the I-type, subduction-related, Jurassic Zamora batholith, which intrudes Triassic volcanosedimentary rocks. The Zamora batholith is in turn cut by porphyritic stocks, which are commonly associated with skarn formation and/or porphyry-style mineralization. High precision U-Pb and Re-Os ages for porphyritic stocks (UPb, zircon), associated prograde skarn (U-Pb, hydrothermal titanite), and retrograde stage skarn (Re-Os, molybdenite from veins postdating gold deposition) of the Nambija district are all indistinguishable from each other within error (145 Ma) and indicate a Late Jurassic age for the gold mineralization. Previously, gold mineralization at Nambija was considered to be Early Tertiary based on K-Ar ages Miner Deposita (2009) Ar and Re-Os ages for magmatic-hydrothermal minerals from the Pangui district, which range between 157 and 152 Ma. Mineralization at Nambija and Pangui is associated with porphyritic stocks that represent the last known episodes of a long-lived Jurassic arc magmatism (∼190 to 145 Ma). A Jurassic age for mineralization at Nambija and Pangui suggests that the Northern Andean Jurassic metallogenic belt, which starts in Colombia at 3°N, extends down to 5°S in Ecuador. It also adds a new mineralization style (Au-skarn) to the metal endowment of this belt.

The Bolivian tin belt is a metallogenic province in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes known for its Sn, W, Ag and base metal deposits. Cassiterite, which is a major constituent in many magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits from the Bolivian tin belt, can incorporate dozens of elements within its crystal lattice, making it a useful geological tracer mineral, and also a potential host of critical elements. New U-Pb dating of cassiterite yields Late Triassic (Kellhuani deposit) and Late Oligocene to earliest Miocene (Viloco, Huanuni and Llallagua deposits) ages. These ages confirm that Sn mineralization in the Bolivian tin belt occurred at least in two separate events during two major magmatic episodes apparently triggered by mantle upwelling, decompression melting and basalt Man crip Wi ho Track ChangeClick here to access/download;Manuscript Without Track Changes;0_Gemmrrich et al_BTB_V3.doc 2 production promoting high heat flow into the overlying crust. The composition of studied hydrothermal cassiterite yields some geochemical trends that are attributed to its distance to the causative intrusion and/or level of emplacement. For example, cassiterite is generally enriched in Nb and Ta and yields higher Ti/Zr and Ti/Sc ratios in samples from xenothermal ore deposits located adjacent to intrusive complexes relative to shallow xenothermal and epithermal ore deposits. Therefore, these geochemical trends in cassiterite are useful tracers pointing to magmatic-hydrothermal centers. REE distribution in cassiterite was likely influenced by boiling processes, which resulted in tetrad-type irregularities. Cassiterite from the Bolivian tin belt is unattractive as a source for Nb (interquartile range [IQR] 4.84-0.037 ppm), Ta (IQR 0.0924-0.0126 ppm) and Ge (IQR 3.92-0.776 ppm). Some deposits, however, contain cassiterite relatively enriched in In (IQR 96.9-9.78 ppm, up to 1414 ppm) and Ga (IQR 92.1-3.03, up to 7437 ppm), that could constitute an attractive supplementary source for these elements in addition to sulfide minerals in the same deposits.

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